Every golfer has
his or her own swing
DNA – natural traits
and tendencies
defining balance,
rotation and plane
which combine to
determine the nature
of impact.

There are many common
denominators that we can
identify in good players’ DNA
which enable them to make
(and repeat!) a powerful,
efficient and dynamic action.
My style as a coach is to offer
simplistic methods of deep
practice that enable a golfer to
feel and understand effective
movements in the swing.
If a player can ‘feel’ a new
movement 10 times in a row
then the chances of them
diluting them in practice are
slim. Using drills that give
constant reminders allows for
repetition to be performed
at a high level and therefore
your development as a player is
more effective. The drills
featured in this article will help
you to balance out the natural
traits in your swing DNA and
give you a few of the traits of
world-class ball strikers. Rather
than try to change your swing
aggressively, I would suggest
that you simply use a 10:1
practice ratio – 10 rehearsal drills
to one real shot. Doing that
allows you to focus
intensively on your movement
so that the new feeling works
seamlessly into your own
natural move without your
brain being cluttered with
complicated swing thoughts.

By Dan Frost

Swing ‘n’ load: Using a
resistance band can help
you to accentuate the feeling
of ‘loading’ the backswing;
the key is to keep
the band stretched as you
turn and coil. Notice that
the club does not quite
reach parallel although the
shoulder turn is full

Two thoughts will help you to
negotiate the transition and store
that pent-up energy: keep the left
shoulder slow and the band soft.
This will balance out any tendency
to ‘cast’ or release the club early in
the downswing and activate your
kinematic chain – i.e. pelvis, trunk,
lead arm, then club

FEEL WRIST HINGE & FOREARM ROTATION WITH THE HOOP DRILL

In order to enjoy setting the club into a loaded, on-plane
position in the backswing, it is vital to implement the
correct blend of wrist hinge, forearm rotation and
shoulder turn around a solid lower base in your swing.
This drill will help you.

The manner in which the left arm rotates is often an
overlooked factor when it comes to the process of navigating
those first few critical feet in the backswing. If the left
arm is rotated correctly you have a much better chance of
setting the right arm and right elbow into an efficient plane
while at the same time maintaining the radius of your swing.

Mix together the left arm rotation and the relatively short
journey the left shoulder takes to arrive at a position under
the chin and you will enjoy a great relationship between
your arms and torso, which in turn will help you to experience
the correct chain reaction (kinematic sequence) in the
downswing.

My hoop drill (using a Pilate’s ring that you can buy
in a sports store) allows you to feel the correct sequence
and the sensations involved with ‘set’, transition and
shaft control.

(Left) Settle your
weight 50:50,
and feel it is
supported on
the balls of
your feet

(Right) Feel the resistance in the right thigh as you rotate and set the wrists

Dynamic leg action stabilises the transition and the right elbow works in to the chest

Follow these four steps to master it…

Step 1: You can establish a ‘ready’, athletic and balanced
set-up position by tipping forward from the hip and ensuring
that your weight is evenly distributed 50/50 between both
feet (and in the middle of your feet). From here, grip the
hoop with both hands, making sure that it rests on the
inside of your left forearm – representing the correct forward
shaft lean you should have with a club in your hands
at address.

Step 2: Focus on maintaining the connection (between left
forearm and hoop) you had at address as you start to rotate
your left shoulder under the chin. Notice how the correct left
arm rotation has encouraged the right arm fold (i.e. ‘set’).

Step 3: Start your downswing by moving your weight from
your right heel to your left toe whilst maintaining left arm
contact with the hoop. This will allow you to feel and retain
the stored energy as the lower half moves back to impact.

(Notice how quiet the left shoulder is in transition – as per
the drill on the opening spread, a good thought is to slow
the left shoulder for a split-second as you start down.)

Step 4: Repetition is the key ingraining all of the feelings
associated with this drill. I suggest making 10 movements
with the hoop and then picking up your 7-iron and making
the same swing. The feelings should linger. By practising
this way you will be able to keep some of your natural
swing rhythm and balance (your own swing DNA).
Think about your leg action...

(Left) Arms hang comfortably at the set up, body lines all run parallel

(Right) Rotation of the left forearm encourages the right arm to fold

Hips rotate to clear the way for the arms to swing through impact

The direction of your leg drive has a massive effect on your
balance in the golf swing and your spine angle through
impact. Nearly all of the world’s best players lose height as
they move down into impact, whereas amateurs tend to
lose height in the backswing and then gain height as they
glance through impact.

To get the right sensation, rehearse swings inside two
canes set out like tramlines (as you see in the below). The key to this drill is to make sure that the left
knee stays inside the canes on the backswing and then the
right knee drives inside the canes on the downswing. These
moves will limit the variables and create a good spine angle
throughout the rotation.

(Left) To focus on and improve your leg action, rehearse this exercise using a couple of clubs on the ground to create a set of ‘tramlines’

(Right) The key is to make sure that your left knee remains inside the outer cane as you complete your backswing pivot – let it ease gently across towards the
braced right knee as you coil your body

(Left) Rather than shoot forwards, which is a common mistake, the right knee then works toward the left as you rotate and clear the way for impact

(Right) See if you can get the right knee to gently kiss the left in the finish – that’s a good indication the legs have worked well throughout

WORK THOSE HIPS
FOR A BETTER
SEQUENCE OF MOTION

As a warm-up exercise before you tee off, or
simply to get some motion going before you hit
balls on the range, swinging a club with your
right hand only is a great way to improve the
overall ‘sequencing’ of motion.

Generally speaking, when a golfer does this
for the first time, what you tend to see is the
lower half of the body remains static, and the
overall swing lacks coordination. To get around
that problem, and to help ingrain the feeling of
the correct hip and low body motion, grab your
right hip pocket with your left hand. Once you
are in your set-up position, the key then is to
focus on the role of your hips and your lower
body action as you rotate into the backswing
and then unwind through to a finish. I want you
to feel the way the right knee, right hip and right
arm all work together; pull on your right hip with
your left hand to re-rotate your hips toward the
target and enjoy the sensation of clearing your
body and releasing the right arm and the club.
When you apply both hands back to the grip
you will feel a much improved sequence and
balance through impact.

(Left) Stabilise your hip
action as you turn
and swing to the
top, creating width

(Right) Pull on your right hip to
initiate the move into the
downswing...

(Left) ...and keep on pulling! Get those hips
turning, creating the room for the
right arm to swing and accelerate

(Centre) Right foot is pulled up
onto the toe, right knee
works towards the left
and hips face the target– a dynamic leg
action that determines
the rhythm of the swing

(Right) Maintain that
pressure on the
right hip pocket all
the way through to
the finish

BALANCE
YOUR SWING,
LEFT-HAND ONLY

It’s important that you balance out your
swing on either side, and not only will
this left-hand-only drill complement the
right-hand drill, it also helps you to train
the left side for impact and quieten any
tendency to over-use the wrists in an
attempt to add loft and scoop the ball
into the air. This drill gives you a great
feeling of the dog wagging the tail (i.e.
body leading the arms). It will not only
give you better sequence, but also a
lower, more penetrating ball flight. For
every set of reps you complete with the
right-hand drill, balance it with the same
number of left-hand-only swings

WATCHFACE DRILL HELPS YOU TO
BLEND ARM-SWING WITH BODY ROTATION

One of the most common problems many amateur
golfers struggle with is swinging the club on
way too steep and too narrow a plane
approaching impact – often the result of the
classic ‘over the top’ fault that leads to all manner
of pulled and sliced shots and a severe loss
of distance.

At the root of the problem is a tendency to
spin out of the shot with the upper body and
throw the right arm and shoulder forward at the
start of the downswing, which leads to a steep
angle of attack on the ball. In other words, they
fail to give themselves the room and the time to
shallow their swing via a smooth transition into
the downswing. The logical sequence of motion
is lost and ball striking is erratic, at best.

So here’s a way to remedy that situation. The
easiest way to establish a simple, efficient arc to
your swing is to tee the ball up and focus your
attention on your watch face (assuming you
wear one!).

Tee it high, and make it fly!

Teeing the ball relatively high (here I’m using a
7-iron) makes it all the more inviting to clip off
the peg, and with regular practise you will find
that you trust your swing and collect the ball on
the way through, rather than chopping down on
it too steeply. (The higher you tee it, the more
any tendency to chop down steeply will be
revealed, as you will make contact with the tee
before the ball!). Hit a dozen shots repeating this
drill; with less pressure on you to get the ball airborne,
you will shallow out the path of your
swing and enjoy striking the ball more solidly
and more consistently.

(Left) Clockwise
rotation of
watch face
helps the left
arm to work
in tandem
with the
body

(Right) Crossover of the
wrists is vital to a
full release of the
club and efficient
delivery of speed. Rotation of left
wrist and forearm
into the followthrough
sees the
watch face look
behind you

Focus on the watch face

Where does the watch face come in? Well, it’s
simple: the key is to let your watch face gently
rotate in a clockwise direction as you swing the
club away from the ball – in so doing you will
find that your left arm rotates and swings nicely
across your chest, while the toe of the club
works up, maintaining a neutral face angle in the
backswing. Your arms and body are now working
nicely in concert with the rotation of your
torso in the backswing – and the real key to this
drill is that a mirror image of that move is seen in
the follow-through. The watch face and left arm
this time rotate counter clockwise while the toe
of the club again points up to the sky. One more
point: notice how my ankles are firm in the backswing
and soft in the through-swing.